Cubs vs Phillies — After a walkoff win against the Mets on Sunday, the Chicago Cubs have now won five games in a row, all supported by the third best run differential (+30) in Major League Baseball. Naturally, they remain in fourth place of the NL Central, because pretty much every other team is playing hot right now, too. But we’re nowhere near worrying about anyone other than ourselves.
To that end … boy, have the Cubs picked a good time to get hot. Or, at least, a good time to catch the Phillies and Mets (against whom these five wins have come).
Remember, the Cubs dropped the opener in Philadelphia last week, but took the last two games of the series to win it and kick off this nice little streak. The Phillies, by contrast, went on to drop three in a row to the Braves over the weekend, bringing their losing streak to an equal five games.
The Cubs will now face the Phillies again, but this time, they’ll do it at Wrigley Field *and* Matthew Boyd should be back to make the start on Wednesday. His opponent is still TBD.
Before that, Colin Rea will get what could be his final start (for now) in the Cubs rotation tonight. I say that because despite being generally very solid, Rea is not a lock to keep his role, while Javier Assad has also looked swell. More to the point, I could see the Cubs preferring Assad if only because it would allow Rea to swing right back into the bullpen, strengthing another group that is missing way too many key arms at the moment.
In any case, tonight, Rea will face Aaron Nola, against whom the Cubs plated three earned runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings six days ago.
Tomorrow, Shota Imanaga will get a chance to keep rolling against the Phillies, a team he struck out 11 times in 6.0 innings of one-run ball last week. He’ll go up against Jesus Luzardo, who was nuked by the Cubs offense last week: 12H, 9R, 8ER, 1BB, 4K. So on paper, I’d say that’s maybe the most winnable game.
Boyd is on Wednesday against TBD. And then Thursday is the big showdown between the Phillies ace, Cristopher Sanchez, and the Cubs potential ace Edward Cabrera.
Sanchez proved to be a very tough challenge for this Cubs offense, particularly given the struggles versus left-handed pitching: 6.0 IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 8K. And he followed that up with six innings with no earned runs and eight strikeouts against the Braves over the weekend.
As for the Cubs offense in general, look who’s been hot over the last two weeks:
Moises Ballesteros: .542/.538/.958 (310 wRC+) … LOL Carson Kelly: .367/.472/.667 (217 wRC+) Ian Happ: .289/.426/.526 (167 wRC+) Nico Hoerner: .352/.379/.556 (161 wRC+) Matt Shaw: .300/.344/.567 (153 wRC+) Dansby Swanson: .225/.373/.475 (140 wRC+)Lots of people! And with a couple of left-handed starters scheduled for the Phillies, Matt Shaw should start to work back into the starting lineup a bit more this week than he has lately.
© David Banks-USA TODAY SportsCubs vs Phillies – Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Monday, April 20 at 6:40 PM CT at Wrigley FieldBroadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs: Colin Rea, RHP Phillies: Aaron Nola, RHPGame 2: Tuesday, April 21 at 6:40 PM CT at Wrigley FieldBroadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP Phillies: Jesus Luzardo, LHPGame 3: Wednesday, April 22 at 6:40 PM CT at Wrigley FieldBroadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs: Matthew Boyd, LHP Phillies: TBDGame 4: Thursday, April 23 at 1:20 PM CT at Wrigley FieldBroadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs: Edward Cabrera, RHP Phillies: Cristopher Sanchez, LHPCubs vs Phillies – Key Injuries:
Chicago Cubs:
Matthew Boyd, SP (returning this week) Hunter Harvey, RP Porter Hodge, RP Phil Maton, RP Daniel Palencia, RP Ethan Roberts, RP Jordan Wicks, SP Tyler Austin, IF/OF (60-Day IL) Cade Horton, SP (60-Day IL) Shelby Miller, RP (60-Day IL) Justin Steele, SP (60-Day IL)Philadelphia Phillies
Zack Wheeler, SP Max Lazar, RP Zach Pop, RP Jonathan Bowlan, RP Jhoan Duran, RPHence then, the article about the cubs have picked a good time to get hot cubs vs phillies series preview was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The Cubs Have Picked a Good Time to Get Hot — Cubs vs Phillies: Series Preview )
Also on site :